Sakura Blossoms on Ice
by iwantsupernatural
Summary: A strange girl who somehow already knows Gray and Natsu shows up at the guild. Who is she, what secrets does she hold, can she be trusted, and just how powerful is she?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was a regular day at the Fairy Tail Guildhall. People fought, shouted, fought some more, and wrecked the place. All in all, normal. That was why very few people noticed the door opening, and a girl quietly slipping in. She stood there for a while until everyone had finally halted in their activities and turned to look at her. She brought a shock to everyone.

First was her appearance. There were two people in the guild whom everyone had seen in a constant state of undress or near undress. They were Cana, who generally wore only a bra and no top, and Gray, the club's very own private (and public) stripper. The new girl also happened to be quite stunning. Prettier even than Mirajane. Her height was a bit below average, and she had a slender yet curvy figure. She had thick, long raven hair that fell to her waist in loose curls that tumbled around her shoulders. It was layered, and there were several strands that fell forwards to hide her right eye and left cheek. She had a pretty face, smooth with soft features in which were set silvery blue green eyes. Her full lips were soft and red, set under a small nose.

Her attire, or, at least, her top, was very revealing. She had on a bra and an open red leather jacket that went down to her waist and nothing else. It showed off her large breasts, flat, toned stomach, and small waist and sent several noses into a state of bloodiness. She also had on a pair of loose jeans that hugged her wide hips and a pair of sandals. She had on no visible jewelry, nor did anyone see her holding any possessions.

The second shock was that Natsu immediately ran up to her shouting, "Saku-chan! Fight me!" as he pulled her into a hug. The first part wasn't a surprise. That was simply Natsu being... Natsu. No, the surprise came from the familiarity with which he spoke to her, and the hug. Natsu was not known for showing physical affection. 'Saku-chan' briefly returned the hug before playfully shoving Natsu away. The rest of the Fairy Tail guild members were openly staring with their mouths open slightly. Their jaws dropped even more when Gray, who had stripped at some point during the girl's arrival, walked up to her with a small yet genuine smile.

"Kura-chan. Been a while since you've dropped by," stated the dark-haired boy. His tone was relaxed and casual, but his posture betrayed his happiness and surprise.

"No hello? You've gotten ruder, Gray-chan."

"Hello. Were you looking to join the guild or were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to join Fairy Tail, egotist. I wasn't expecting to find you here. I heard that it was home to the most destructive wizards around and figured it was the place for me. I will admit, I can see why you and Tsu-chan joined. I assume that you," the girl turned to the fire dragon slayer who was aiming a punch at her, "are the main cause of the Magic Council's headache?" She blocked the punch with one hand, slender arm not showing any signs of strain despite the strength the guild knew would be in it.

"Hell yeah!" Natsu grinned as he threw another punch, this one reinforced with fire.

"Tsu-chan, can't you let me finished talking before you attack?" the girl blocked the punch again, ignoring the flames that licked at her skin. Surprisingly, there were no signs of burns on her hand. She retaliated with a punch to Natsu's chest.

"You were ignoring me-" Natsu's words were cut off as he flew backwards into the wall. "for stupid ice-block here." He ran towards the girl again, shouting "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" as his hand lit on fire. The girl dodged it, sending a kick to Natsu's side.

"Hey! Who are you calling stupid, ash-for-brains?" shouted Gray.

"Don't taunt him, Gray-chan," sighed the girl. She sent Natsu flying to the wall again, but the pink-haired mage turned and used it to send him flying towards her, fist on fire. He shot a smug look at the ice mage, which the raven haired girl caught.

"The same goes for you, Tsu-chan." The girl dodged to the side, spinning with her foot extended, sending Natsu sailing in the direction opposite to the way he was going.

"Stop holding back, Saku-chan!" shouted Natsu in frustration. Rolling silvery blue-green eyes, the girl sighed as she caught the fire dragon slayer's fist in her hand, spun him, and shot him straight into the ceiling. It was a rare day where the whole guild was present, including Laxus, the Thunder Tribe, and Gildarts. The crash mage smiled slightly at the move that was reminiscent of his own way of dealing with Natsu's attack. The pink-haired boy landed on his feet, but was soon knocked on his back with a sandal-clad foot planted on his chest.

"I win," said the strange girl with a glint in her eyes. She turned to Gray, who had sat down at a bench during the fight and began walking over to him. As she approached, the ice mage stood and pulled her into a fierce hug which she returned.

"Gray-sama, who is that girl?" cried Juvia. The rain woman glared at the new girl who was in the process of hugging _her_ Gray-sama. Her annoyance grew as she was ignored.

"Gray-chan," began the girl, "as happy as I am to see you, I would like to know the names of everyone currently staring at us." The ice mage reluctantly pulled away, and began to introduce everyone to her, saying their name and magic type.

"You already know Natsu. The one with red hair is Erza Scarlet, a Requip mage and the most powerful girl in the guild. The blonde with the keys is Lucy Heartfilia, a Celestial Mage. She has eight gold keys and four silver. The guy in the suit who's can't take his eyes of Lucy is Loke, or Leo, one of her Celestial Spirits. That blue-haired girl over there is Levy McGarden, a Solid Script mage. The guy with the long black hair and piercings is Gajeel Redfox, an-" Gray was cut off by the girl.

"He's an Iron Dragon Slayer. Metallicana's 'brat', right?" the mage in question started in surprise.

"How do you know Metallicana?" he asked.

"I just do. There are seven dragon slayers that I know about, including you and Natsu. Three are first generation, two second, and two third. I know their names, just not their appearances," replied the girl, clearly evading the question.

"Before we continue with this introduction, I think we'd all appreciate knowing the _name_ of our guest," Makarov interrupted as Gray opened his mouth to continue. "We have enough members that I suspect that it will be a long time before we have the pleasure of knowing our member-to-be's name." Gray looked slightly sheepish as he ignored Juvia's continuous questions of who the girl was to him.

"This is Sakura," he said.

"Juvia understands," shouted the water mage, frustrated at being ignored by her lovely Gray-sama. "Sakura-san is another _love rival_." She hissed out the words with venom as she glared at the now-named Sakura, who looked utterly confused.

"What?! I don't like Gray-chan like that!" she said.

"Don't mind her, Kura-chan. She seems to think that every girl I'm even vaguely affectionate with is a 'love rival'. Anyways, the blonde over there with the lightning scar is Laxus Dreyar," Gray continued.

"Second generation Lightning Dragon Slayer, right?" queried Sakura.

"Right. The one with the green hair is Freed Justine; he's a Rune mage. The one in the helmet is Bickslow, a Seith mage. The one with glasses is Evergreen, a Stone mage. They make up the Thunder Tribe." Gray continued with introductions, which took a ridiculous amount of time. After he was finally done, Mira walked up to Sakura with the giant Fairy Tail stamp in her hand.

"What color would you like you stamp, and where?" asked the Take Over mage sweetly.

"Green, on the left side of my chest." Mira stamped it, and Sakura was officially part of Fairy Tail.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After being stamped, everyone began to crowd around Sakura, greeting her and asking multiple questions: what her magic type was, where she came from, who her family was, how did she know Gray and Natsu, among others. She dodged as many as she could, but answered a few of the questions she deemed less personal: why did she join Fairy Tail, how did she find it, questions like that. Gray had kept close to the raven-haired girl, and upon noticing her start to tire, began to attempt to ward off the wave of curious mages.

"It's getting late. We should let Sakura rest," Makarov shouted to be heard over the roar of voices. "Do you have a place to stay?" He directed the questions towards Fairy Tail's newest member. She turned to Gray briefly, a question clear in her silvery blue green eyes. She was met with a nod, and turned back to the master.

"I can stay with Gray-chan," she replied. "I'd like to catch up with him anyways."

"Alright. Gray, don't do perverted things to her," ordered the master.

"_Now_ who's being a pervert?" shouted the ice mage.

"Says the pervert." That was Natsu, who was trying to rile up Gray.

"You're the one that sleeps in Lucy's bed!"

"You wanna go at it, Iceblock?!"

"Come at me, ash-for-brains!" Erza moved to break up the fight, but before she could, Sakura moved forwards.

"Tsu-chan, stop riling up Gray-chan. Gray-chan, stop riling up Tsu-chan. It's too late for this and I'm tired." The two instantly backed down.

"Yes, Sakura-san," they said in unison. Everyone was amazed at the display. Usually only Erza could break them apart when they decided to go at it, but Sakura had done so with only a slight glare.

"Hey! Don't copy me, Stripper!" Natsu shouted.

"Tsu-chan!" said Sakura dangerously. "If you don't stop trying to get into a fight, then I will be forced to resort to... other methods. _Understood_?"

"Aye, sir!"replied Natsu, instantly straightening and looking utterly afraid. Lucy sweat dropped. '_She can turn him into Happy 2 also?_' she thought. Speaking of the little blue cat, she realized she hadn't seen him since Sakura came and wondered where he was. At that exact moment, almost as though reading her thoughts, Happy flew in, a bunch of fish trailing behind him.

"Sakura! Do you want some fish?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course, Happy. I'm not very hungry, so I'll only take two. You eat the rest, okay?" replied Sakura gently with a fond smile. She took two out of the six fish, and patted Happy on his little blue head.

"Aye sir!" was the excited reply.

"Come on, Happy! We have to cook the fish," added in Natsu. The two left, hopefully for their own house. After the main troublemakers were gone, everyone else started to leave for the night.

Sakura and Gray made their way to Gray's apartment, the ice mage in the lead. The walked in a comfortable silence, both simply enjoying the cool clearness of the night. It was a full moon tonight, and stars sprinkled the blue-black sky, twinkling over the two mages. It was a romantic night, a night for lovers. For the two walking through the streets of Magnolia, it was simply a peaceful night. Once they entered Gray's apartment, he quickly showed her around. A small living room with a couch and a chair, a kitchen, a bathroom with a bathtub and shower, and one bedroom with a small couch.

Sakura immediately made herself comfortable on his bed, and the ice mage sat next to her. It was Gray who broke the silence.

"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" he asked.

"I'd say... four or five years?"

"Probably. It sounds about right."

"How have you been? Fairy Tail seems to be doing you some good, though I see it hasn't helped your stripping habit one bit," grinned Sakura.

"Hey! It's a bit better!" Gray replied defensively. "But I've been well. I got roped into being on a team with Flamebrain, Erza, Happy, and Lucy. How have you been?"

"I've been fine. I haven't really done anything particularly notable. Been traveling, mostly."

"Why did you come here, Sakura? I know you, and I know that reason you gave to everyone was utter crap. 'It sounded like a fun guild' my ass. I'm amazed that anyone believed that."

"I was tired. Tired of always moving, always being alone. I wanted somewhere to stay, someplace stable. A home." Sakura's voice was wistful as she spoke.

"I'm glad. That you came, I mean," said Gray warmly.

"I am too. I should have realized you were here. Now that I think about it, all the newspaper reports of a naked guy walking around town and stealing underwear should have tipped me off."

"Hey! It's not my fault that I do it."

"Gray-chan, both Lyon and I trained under Ur, and neither of us strip subconsciously. Only you retained that habit."

"I'll have you know that I've seen Lyon do it whenever he's about to fight!"

"Does he take off his pants too, or only his shirt?" Sakura questioned flatly.

"Just... his shirt," mumbled Gray. The raven haired girl next to him laughed quietly.

"The only reason you don't do it is because you don't _have_ a shirt to take off."

"True, but you're still the worst." The two burst out laughing, easily falling into their old bantering.

"Come on, Kura-chan. Let's get some sleep," said Gray softly as he noticed her yawning. The ice mage stripped and slipped under the covers, Sakura facing him as she took of her jacket and began to take off her bra and change into something more suitable for sleep.

"Turn around, Kura-chan," reminded Gray. The girl slipped her jacket back on and turned to enter the bathroom. '_Oh, Kura. Why do you always hide your back? What happened to you?_' he thought as Sakura returned and slipped under the covers beside him. The two soon fell asleep, cuddling closely to one another.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sakura and Gray woke to voices, which they recognized as Happy and Natsu. Opening their eyes, they realized that at some point, Sakura had curled up against Gray's chest, her head tucked under his chin while Gray had wrapped his arms around her waist. That explained what had been tickling him in his sleep. They jumped away from each other before turning to look at the visitors, which included Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Erza.

"Gray's a pervert!" shouted Natsu.

"He llllllllllllikes her," added Happy, rolling his 'l'.

"Gray, why were you sleeping with Sakura?"

"Shut up, you stupid fiery bastard."

"What kind of relationship do they _have_?"

"I don't like her like that!"

"Everyone shut up!" yelled Sakura. "Natsu, it's too early for fighting. Happy, we don't like each other. Erza, we've been doing this since we were... I don't know how long, but it's been a while. Gray, if you didn't react, he wouldn't rile you up, simple as that. Lucy, we're simply friends who have known each other for a very long time." Sakura then got out of bed and grabbed her jacket, bra, and pants before starting to take off her shirt.

"Don't do that in front of everyone!" shouted Lucy. Sakura looked confused for a moment.

"Oh. It's fine," she assured the blonde mage before taking off her shirt to reveal her large chest. She quickly put on her bra and jacket, then pants.

"Sakura, do you have any possessions aside from your clothes?" asked Erza. The raven haired girl paused.

"Now that I think about it, no."

"Nothing? Not even other clothes, or a hairbrush even?" asked Lucy in surprise.

"Never really thought about it. I borrowed one of Gray's shirts to sleep in, and before I came here, I was alone. The rooms I stayed at generally supplied a hairbrush and tooth brush, and I didn't need anything to sleep in." The occupants of the room looked at her with shock. Just how long had this girl lived on the road? Sakura began to comb her fingers through her thick curls, wincing slightly as they caught in her hair. Erza requipped a hairbrush, and held it out to the other girl. Everyone couldn't help but wonder why she had a hairbrush in her dimensional storage.

Sakura gratefully accepted the brush before roughly pulling it through her raven curls. The girls in the room and even the boys winced at the sound of strands of hair snapping. This went on for barely a second before Gray grabbed the brush out of her hand.

"Let me. It sounds like you're going to rip your hair out of your scalp, Kura-chan. Do you even know how to use a brush?" he asked.

"Yes," began Sakura defensively. "I just never had the patience to deal with tangles. The girls stared at her in horror as Gray began to gently pull the brush through her hair, starting at the bottom and working his way up. Everyone was now staring at him, surprised that he actually knew how.

"What?" he snapped as he realized everyone but Sakura was looking at him. Despite his harsh tone, he was gentle as he continued to work out the tangles in Sakura's hair. "I had to do it for Sakura all the time when we were younger. She's never had the patience for it." Everyone just nodded.

"Why did you come here in the first place?" Sakura spoke up.

"Oh yeah! We found a job," said Natsu. He held up a sheet of paper for the two to see. Sakura grabbed it, as Gray was still busy with her hair.

"How long has it been since you've actually brushed it?" he asked. Sakura ignored the question in favor of looking at the job.

"Take out a large group of bandits... outside Hargeon. Bandits are mages, apparently have been raiding the place... Seem to be very powerful... 100,000 jewel per person," she read out.

"Sounds alright," said Gray. "We each get 100,000 jewel. That'll be enough to pay off both your rents, Lucy and Erza. Let's do it."

"It'll pay off your rent too," reminded Sakura. Now that they were all in agreement, Natsu and Happy went to the guild house to accept the job.

"Finished," said Gray after a few more minutes. He handed the hairbrush back to Erza. Sakura ran her fingers through her now-smooth curls.

"Thanks Gray-chan. I've been meaning to cut it, but I could never find that time."

"Don't," said Gray immediately. "Don't cut it. You look good with it long."

"But I always have to ask you to-"

"It's fine. I don't mind brushing it for you. It's kinda relaxing, actually," interrupted Gray. Lucy 'aww'ed at the two before she and Erza turned to leave. She was rather excited, as she would finally find out what magic Sakura used.

The group soon found themselves at the train station, Erza dragging her huge cart of baggage behind her.

"Erza, do you really need all of that?" asked Sakura with a sigh.

"Yes. It includes clothes, armor, weapons, and other necessities."

"Isn't that what requip is for? Keeping all of that crap in an extra dimensional storage space?"

"I never learned how to do that," mumbled Erza, head lowered slightly. The rest of the group was rather shocked at the show of embarrassment that Sakura had inspired.

"Then how can you even requip? I've heard of how quickly you requip, but it's hard to do it so quickly when your armor and weapons are somewhere else."

"I learned to do it quickly." Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed lightly. A silver magic circle appeared beneath the huge cart, which disappeared.

"Sakura, do you use requip too?" asked Lucy curiously.

"Yes," said the raven haired girl at the exact same time that Gray said, "No."

"Well, which is it?" asked Lucy, slightly frustrated at not knowing.

"It's yes."

"It's no." The two replied at the exact same time again. Ice mage and unknown mage glared at each other and opened their mouths to start arguing when train station's announcement stopped them.

"Train to Hargeon, now boarding! Train to Hargeon, now boarding!" The two turned away from one another before marching towards the train, the rest of the group following. Lucy sweat dropped at how much Sakura and Gray reminded her of Natsu and Gray at the moment. The moment the group boarded, Natsu turned green and began moaning. He looked pitifully at Sakura at the same time Erza gestured for him to sit next to her.

"Saku-chan..." he whimpered. Rolling her eyes, the raven haired girl pointed at him.

"Wind Seat!" she said softly as not to annoy the other passengers. A silver magic circle appeared before Natsu, and he was lifted an inch above his seat so he was no longer technically on the train. He immediately returned to his normal color.

Natsu's was a strange brand of motion sickness. If he was physically touching a vehicle when it was in motion, then he was hyper-aware of its movement. If was was in or on a vehicle, but not touching it, then he lost that awareness and was perfectly fine. Sakura's 'Wind Seat' kept him from touching the train, therefore abating his motion sickness.

Lucy looked at Sakura with awe.

"Was that wind magic?" she asked. She thought that mages could only have one type of magic."

"Yes."

"You have two types of magic?"

"Yes. It's very rare, but it happens occasionally. Evergreen, of the Rajinshuu tribe uses both Stone Eyes and Fairy Magic," explained Sakura.

"Wow..." Lucy trailed off in wonder, staring at Sakura. Was it just her, or had the raven haired girl gotten taller in her seat. She had been sitting stiffly, straight up, so it had to have been her imagination. Over the course of the journey, it was really only Lucy who talked, asking Sakura whatever questions came to mind.

"Sakura, what do you think of the guild?" asked Lucy curiously. Her first impression of it was that it was loud, noisy, and dangerous with too much fighting and destruction.

"It's loud, noisy, and full of ruckus, but it's... perfect," replied the raven haired girl with a slight smile. Lucy suddenly realized something.

"How did you know that Evergreen uses Fairy Magic along with Stone Eyes? Gray never mention it."

"He did mention it. You must have not heard over the rest of the guild."

"No, he didn't. I'm sure of it," Lucy stubbornly insisted.

"Gray-chan, you said that Evergreen had Fairy Magic and Stone Eyes, right?" Gray looked at Sakura's pleading eyes and caved.

"Yeah, I did. You must have misheard me, Lucy." The blonde mage huffed in frustration at their continuous denial. Further arguing was cut off by the fact that the train had halted. The group stood and entered Hargeon, Erza dragging Natsu with her as Sakura's 'Wind Seat' had disappeared. The group made their way to the town hall, where the mayor, who gave them the job, would hopefully be. Erza led the way, slamming open the doors and demanding to see the mayor. The rest of the group sweat dropped at her typical way. As the guard stuttered in fear, she prepared to knock him out.

"Erza-san, why don't you let me handle this. If you continue to terrorize everyone, then we'll never get to the mayor," Sakura interrupted. Natsu and Gray looked at her as though she were crazy. Surprisingly, the scarlet haired Requip mage backed down.

"Hello sir," Sakura began to speak with another guard as the other had sprinted away. "We'd greatly appreciate it if you would take us to see the mayor. We were hoping to accept the job he put out. You know, the one to destroy the group of bandits?" The raven haired girl's voice was sickeningly sweet, but the guard she spoke to ate it all up. He bowed, taking her hand in an attempted gallant gesture.

"Of course, Miss..." he trailed off questioningly.

"Sakura."

"Of course, Miss Sakura. I'm sure he will be _very_ happy to see you. Right this way, now." Sakura shuddered as he brushed his lips over her captive hand as she shot a triumphant smile at the others. Gray seemed to be glaring at the guard for some reason, but she brushed it off. The group was taken through a surprising amount of halls for a deceptively small building, but they finally halted in front of a large, brown oak door. The guard opened it swiftly with a bow, sweeping his arm in a gesture for them to enter. It was clearly directed at Sakura. As Erza began to march in, she was held back by a pale, slender hand.

"I think, Erza-san, that I should be the spokesperson," said Sakura. The Requip mage acquiesced, allowing the other girl to enter first. She greeted the man behind a large wooden desk with a smile.

"Hello, sir. We're here to accept the job you put out."

"Ah, yes. Fairy Tail mages I assume?" She nodded.

"You all are very welcome here. I will allow you free meals and boarding wherever you wish to stay for as long as it takes to defeat the bandits." The mayor handed out six cards to Sakura. "I believe the best place here would be the Ocean View Inn," he added with a sly wink.

"Thank you, sir. We greatly appreciate this." Sakura turned and left the room, the rest of the group trailing after her with dazed looks of awe. Their next order of business would be to find the Ocean View Inn. It was, unsurprisingly, located near the port, which had been fixed since Natsu's last visit. Entering the building, the six found that it was, indeed, quite nice. The main room was cozy, a red and gold carpet covering the floor. A few plump red couches were scattered around, and a stone hearth spread it's warm light over the dimly lit room. In one corner was a wooden desk with a man behind it. He wore casual clothing, and had a name tag introducing him as 'Riko'. He seemed to be the innkeeper. Sakura walked up to him before Erza could move.

"Could we have... two rooms with an extra cot in one please?" The man looked through some papers, eyes scanning quickly over them.

"We have two rooms, but they have two in between them. There is another pair which are side by side, but one of them has only one bed," the man gave Sakura her options. She turned to the others, seeming to have silent conversation with Gray and Natsu.

"We'll take the adjacent ones," she said politely.

"Alright. You have rooms 2A and 2B. Here are you're keys." He placed two small gold keys in front of Sakura, who quickly swept them up.

"That will be two hundred jewel."

"We're here by request of the mayor, so he gave us these?" said Sakura rather questioningly as she handed the man the six cards. His eyes widened slightly.

"I'll accept these, thank you. You may have the rooms as long as you want or need, and any meal you wish will be supplied. The mayor will pay for it all. Thank you, and please enjoy your stay!" Sakura turned away, keys in hand. She led the others to the second floor, where 2A and 2B were easily found. She opened the door to the first room and found two beds with a smaller cot.

"Alright. Natsu, Erza, and Lucy, you can take this room. Gray and I will have the other one," ordered Sakura.

"But the other room has only one bed," began Lucy.

"We've slept in the same bed since we were children. I think that we'll be fine," Sakura retorted rather coldly. The blonde haired mage annoyed her to no end with her constant questions and slight (extreme) whininess. She handed the 2A key to Erza, who she knew she could trust it with. She turned to go with Gray, but halted, remembering something.

"Oh, Erza, here's your stuff." A silver magic circle appeared, and the Requip mage's luggage appeared. She turned and left, closing the door behind her. She then entered the next room. It was rather small, but cozy. There was a soft blue carpet covering the floor with lighter blue walls painted to depict an oceanic scene. There was one bed with a dark blue comforter. Beside it was a brown wood nightstand, a lit lantern on top of it. A door led to a small bathroom and another opened to reveal a closet. There was also a shelf with a small supply of food, mainly snacks. Beneath it was a shelf with books solely about Hargeon. Gray closed the door behind them and the sat next to each other on the bed.

"Kura-chan, why don't you open up to people?" asked Gray.

"So I don't get hurt. I open up to you, and that's enough for me."

"Tell me about your past, why you always left, and what you do in the times that you leave. I'm curious. Open up to me, Kura-chan."

"I probably should have told you this long ago, huh? You already know what magic I have, so I suppose it would do no harm to tell you everything else. Alright then, Gray-chan. Prepare for a long story," grinned Sakura. The two sat and talked deep into the night, and left both with a deeper understanding of one another and both felt much, much closer. They changed and crawled under the covers, Sakura curled into Gray's chest, the Ice-make mage's arms curled securely around her. They fell asleep in that position, more peaceful than they'd been in awhile.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A loud banging jolted Sakura and Gray out of their sleep. They weren't even vaguely awake, so when they leapt out of bed, they were entwined enough in both each other and the sheets that they fell onto the floor in a rather suggestive position. Erza, being an impatient person kicked open the door and barged in to find Sakura struggling to stand up, but, being too entangled in sheets, failing.

"What is going on in here?" thundered the Requip mage.

"Gray's a pervert!"

"The lllllike each other!" The wake up call was very reminiscent of the one the day before. As Erza ripped Sakura and Gray apart, the rest of the group was acting like their usual, insane selves.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR FUCKING LIVES!" screamed Sakura. Everyone fell quiet.

"If you _ever_ wake us up like the again, then I will not kill you. I will skin you alive, and _make you eat your bloody remains_!" threatened Sakura. It was a gruesome threat that the others, even Erza, heeded quickly. Lucy sweatdropped thinking, _She's even worse than Erza..._ Natsu and Gray instinctively put their arms over each other's shoulders, as was their automatic reaction at such a threatening aura.

"Good," said Sakura, her voice still deadly even. "Now. I want all of you but Gray to leave so we can get dressed. You will _all_ go downstairs and wait in the breakfasting area for us to arrive, and you will not order anything until we do, particularly you, Natsu Dragneel." The group nodded, eager to get away from the demonic Sakura. They rushed over the broken remains of the door. Sakura sighed once they left. She focused on the door, which flew back into its place, reattaching to the hinges. The curly-haired mage looked a bit more vitalized. She turned away from the door, quickly getting dressed and waiting for Gray to also. The two headed down to where their friends were waiting for them.

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you back there. I'm not used to being woken up so rudely," apologized Sakura. "However, if you _ever_ do something like that again then I will hurt you." Sakura paused to let her threat sink in before smiling brightly and waving a waiter over. "Now, what would you all like? Tsu-chan, don't order everything that this fine establishments owns. We do have a finite amount of jewel." Disappointed, the dragon slayer nodded. They ordered their food, eating quickly when it arrived, and went over to the mayor. At the sight of Sakura, one of the guards let them in immediately, leading them, once again, to the mayor's door. Sakura opened it and entered quietly.

"Excuse me?" she asked softly. The mayor looked up.

"We'd like to start going after the bandits today. We'd really appreciate it if you could tell us where you think they are."

"Of course. The last place they were seen was just to the west of Hargeon. I will warn you, they seem to have some sort of powerful magic."

"I think we'll be able to take care of them," Sakura said with a fierce grin. The group turned and left, heading straight for the city gates, circling around the wall and heading west. They soon came upon two men, leaning against trees on either side of the path.

"I'm afraid that this path has a toll. Hand over everything you own or you pay us with your life," said the one of the right. He turned around the tree and somehow reappeared on the left side, while the one on the left appeared on the right.

"I'm sorry. We don't have anything with us," said Sakura. "See?" she plunged her hands into her pockets and came out empty-handed.

"Then your, pretty girl, can pay us in a... different way, while the others pay us with their lives," said the man now on the right. They switched places again. Lucy stepped forwards, hand crossed under her chest to make her breasts look bigger as she pouted and made her brown eyes widen.

"What about me? I'm cuter than her!" exclaimed the Celestial mage. The men looked her over.

"Sorry, we don't like whores," one of them said. They switched places. "Anyhow, pretty girl over there looks like a real woman. She's not cute, she's gorgeous." The two licked their lips lasciviously, staring at Sakura all the while.

"I'm sorry, I prefer _real_ men," said Sakura, her voice low and smooth. She could feel Gray tensing at her side. The Ice mage wondered what the sharp feeling stabbing at his belly was as he watched Sakura flirt with the two. They walked forwards in unison. Though it wasn't a part of her magic, Sakura had always had something about her that attracted both men and women. It was more than just her looks though; it was something that called to people, something that drew them to her like flies to honey. Two more men emerged from behind the trees. The group realized how the men had been switching places. They were two sets of identical twins, one hiding behind the tree while the other stood in front. They did it so smoothly that it looked like a teleportation magic.

"Oh, pretty girl. You'll see that we _are_ real men," said one of them. As they approached her, a shimmer shone in Sakura's hands. The two in front of the trees reached her first, and Sakura's hands flashed out. Twin silver daggers were buried in the men's chests. She quickly pulled them out, and, with a second flash, they were flying through the air to bury in the chests of the other two men who had been rushing towards her. Four people, dead within seconds with just two normal daggers. Even Erza couldn't do that. Lucy looked horrified at the four dead bodies. Fairy Tail members didn't generally kill. In fact, the only death Lucy had really seen was her mother's.

"Kura-chan, Fairy Tail mages don't kill," said Gray gently.

"They would have killed us."

"If we kill them, we're no better than them."

"It's in defense of our lives and other's lives. Would you rather we be dead than them?"

"No, but we could have just left them to the Royal Guard."

"The Royal Guard? Those weaklings? Gray-chan, you don't know _how_ many times they've asked me to recapture escaped prisoners. I swear, a newborn _baby_ could escape that jail. They have no qualms about killing, and that gives them power."

"Kura-chan, we _don't. Kill_," Gray told her seriously. Sakura glared at him for a few more seconds before turning away from him.

"Fine. But if any of your lives get put in clear danger, then I _will_ kill, no matter what." Gray growled lowly under his breath but acquiesced. It was the best he was going to get from his stubborn friend. Lucy watched with, sweatdropping yet again. Despite that Sakura seemed to be the only person Gray was completely vulnerable with, she fought with him almost as much as Natsu. The two continued down the path, the rest of the group trailing behind them. Natsu joined the two in front and they began talking about the past and where Sakura had been. Erza, Lucy, and Happy followed a little ways behind them, feeling a bit left out. Sakura and Natsu stopped abruptly, causing the others to run into them.

"Tsu-chan, do you smell what I'm smelling?" asked Sakura. The pink haired mage nodded.

"Come on!" he shouted as he and Sakura ran off into the forest. The others paused, slightly dumbfounded, before coming to their senses and running after the two. It took awhile to catch up to them, and when they did, they ran into the two mages again. A few feet in front of the group were the bandits.

"What now?" asked Lucy.

"We fight, of course!" was Natsu's immediate reply. He quickly shrunk under the combined glares of Sakura and Erza.

"Use me," suggested Sakura. "They all seem to be men, and if they're anything like the four back there, I might be able to distract them while you all ambush." Erza stared at Sakura. Her idea was a bit too much like Lucy's favored seduction technique.

"You could also use me," whined Lucy. "I'm cute too!"

"I'm not planning to try to seduce them to distraction, idiot! The people I killed back there, didn't you notice? They were two sets of identical twins. That's how they were able to turn around the trees and appear to switch places. It makes is look like they have magic. If all of them are sets of twins, then I'll bet they try to use the same tactics the four back there used. These bandits use the appearance of having magic to intimidate travelers. They're used to citizens, traders, and non-mages passing by, so they've gotten too self-assured. I'm a better actress than all of you, no offense to Erza, so if I act like a traveler who's confused then they'll all focus on me. If they think I'm pretty, then that's an added bonus," explained Sakura with no small amount of exasperation. The others stared at her in slight awe. They had, of course, realized that the men were identical twins. It was hard to miss that. However, they hadn't figured out that the bandits would be used to people being fooled by them, which intimidated non-magic users. Erza nodded in agreement with Sakura's plan, and slowly the others agreed.

She stepped away from the bushes, sneaking back along the path they had come. The others watched with some confusion as she came back a long a few moments later. She continued walking, looking around at the trees as though admiring the scenery.

"Pretty girl!" called one of the bandits. Sakura's head snapped towards him.

"Me?" she asked.

"No one, not even pretty girls like you, is allowed here. Leave, pay the toll, or pay with your life."

"But... I just need to get home. My mother is probably worried about me! Oh, and she's so sick too..." Sakura trailed off, widening her silvery blue-green eyes which glistened slightly. The men showed her no pity, though there were several staring at her large chest which happened to be larger than Lucy's.

"Please! I need to get home..." Sakura trailed off, feigning terror. The bandits grinned as they advanced towards her. Eyes flitting from person to person, Sakura found that her theory had been right. Everyone looked exactly like at least on other person. She was curious as to how they could manage to form a full group solely made up of identical twins, triplets, or others of a similar nature. They weaved among each other in a dizzying dance, twins switching places so only one was always visible. There was a flash of light in Sakura's hands which dispersed to show twin daggers, the same two that had been used to kill the four men earlier. As the group closed in on her, she shouted, a signal for the others to join in the fight. Natsu was first, diving into the midst of the battle, swinging with flaming fists. Gray and Erza popped out next, joining Natsu. Lucy stayed behind the bushes, though Loke did soon join the fight, meaning that she had summoned him.

The bandits had strange tactics. Those who were identical fought different people, but carefully maneuvered so that if one person fell, a twin could take their place while the other tried to recover so it looked like they were invincible. Either way, they were no match for Titania, Salamander, Gray, Leo, and Sakura. Within a few minutes, bandits littered the ground, moaning in pain. Thankfully, Sakura had refrained from killing anyone this time around. Sakura and Erza's weapons shimmered out of existence, the former requipping a long rope which the group used to tie up the bandits. They were interrupted by a lovely voice.

"Stop!" shouted a woman who stepped out from what seemed to be nowhere. "Please! Don't take my children!" Natsu turned to stare at her.

"Huh?! You had this many children?!" he asked, very confused. Sakura and Erza knocked him on the back of the head for his idiocy.

"Yes. They are all my biological children!" cried the woman. It was Erza and Sakura's turn to look confused.

"It's my magic," explained the woman. "I have a strange type of magic called Birth magic. It allows me to create human lives. These men, they are all my children. Don't take my children from me. Please!"

"Did you know what they were doing?" asked Sakura. The woman nodded. Her wide blue eyes were glistening with tears.

"I loved having so many to take care of, but I could not support all of them. We resorted to stealing from passersby for money."

"If we _were_ to let them go, would you stop attacking travelers?" asked Sakura seriously.

"No. We would still need money," replied the woman honestly.

"Then no. We cannot allow this to continue." The woman burst into tears.

"Monsters!" she screamed. "I'll stop you! You won't take my babies! I won't let you! They _love_ me! I need them to love me! I need them to depend on me! They're _mine_!" Any sympathy from the Fairy Tail wizards was now gone. The woman had created lives because she wanted to be needed and loved by people. They attacked her without a second thought.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" screamed Natsu, running at her as his fist caught fire.

"Birth Make: Flesh Shield!" In an instant, a gruesome wall of what appeared to be human flesh appeared before the woman. Erza attacked next, then Gray. The woman blocked each of them with her Flesh Shield. Loke had disappeared after the bandits were defeated, but Taurus was now coming after the woman with Fierce Moove. Sakura stood behind them, fists clenched and trembling.

"Why?" she asked, her voice a low growl. "Why would you create life if you weren't going to love them? Why create life if you didn't want them for _them_. If you didn't want them for the pleasure of having created life. For the pleasure of having _children_. Why?!" screamed Sakura. Her eyes had darkened, becoming a stormy moonlit sea of rage.

"I love them! I love them because they love me! I love them because they need me!" the woman screamed back at Sakura. The woman's blue eyes were insane now, her face wild and her movements choppy.

"Requip: Cutting Sword!" Light shimmered in Sakura's right hand and a sword appeared in it. It was long and thin, the blade a shining silver with light glinting at the edge. It had barely any guard and a long hilt. Gripping the sword with both hands, Sakura ran at the woman.

"Birth Make: Flesh Copy!" The remnants of the woman's shield began to twist and bubble, rising up to form a perfect replica of Sakura. The woman's magic was utterly gruesome, the shaping of flesh to defend or copy. The copy also held a sword that looked exactly like the Cutting Sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Sakura with a hint of sadness. The copy was glowing powerfully, the skin beginning to look transparent. The glow increased until it was shining out of the copy, which exploded into shards of magic.

"How?" the woman trailed off.

"I'm Sakura, a Fairy Tail mage and the unofficial enforcer of the Magic Council. Die, bitch."

"Birth Make: Flesh Barrier! Birth Make: Flesh Fists! Birth Make: Flesh Fists: Stunning Punch!" The woman shouted the spells in a row, but Sakura cut through all of the attacks. The woman's shields were surprisingly strong and slightly immune to burning, ice, and even Erza's sword.

"Birth Make: Stone Flesh Barrier!" Sakura continued to run forwards, cutting straight through both barriers and then through the woman. She fell to the ground, blood pouring from her injuries as she died.

"Kura-chan! _We. Don't. Kill_!" shouted Gray. Sakura looked at him balefully.

"She was a monster, Gray-chan. She created them because she needed to feel needed. She didn't love them, she loved that she was suddenly needed, that she was suddenly loved. She didn't love them. She created them, but she didn't love them. She deserved to die, Gray-chan," said Sakura rather brokenly. The woman's creations clearly bothered her. With their creator's death, the bandits dissolved into magical energy which dispersed into thin air. The rope fell to the ground where it shimmered and disappeared into Sakura's dimensional storage space. The Ice mage let the subject drop though it clearly bothered him that his oldest friend could kill so easily.

"Come on, Gray-chan. On the bright side, we get our full reward," said Sakura brightly. Everyone looked around, rather astonished that no, they hadn't destroyed much. There was admittedly a new clearing in the forest, but that didn't really matter that much. They wouldn't have to give up their reward for damages. Happily, they returned to Hargeon.


End file.
